I like that the swords are pictured as female shaped, being birthed into the world, instead of the imagery of the "hand of God", instead it's the birth canal of the Goddess.

About the Moon imagery: Something didn't feel right to me about the waxing and waning -- I always learned that the moon fills from the bottom up, the waxing moon therefore is the one with the crescent at the bottom, or to the right side ) . The Waning crescent is at the top, or to the left ( .

I checked this out at a NASA site, and it is correct.

So in (moon)light (I couldn't resist) of that, I would say that the Ace of Sword is just after the Dark of the Moon, when new ideas can just begin to take shape. The moon is the slightest sliver. The moon in the Ace of Pentacles would then be Waxing toward harvest, which makes sense.

The Full moon, of course, stays the same -- a time of great, exuberant power.

The Ace of Cups is the one that has me a bit stumped, as it is a waning moon. What I think is that it's a time for going inside, getting ready for the encounter with the dark, unconscious, indicated by all that water.

So in (moon)light (I couldn't resist) of that, I would say that the Ace of Sword is just after the Dark of the Moon, when new ideas can just begin to take shape. The moon is the slightest sliver. The moon in the Ace of Pentacles would then be Waxing toward harvest, which makes sense.

The Full moon, of course, stays the same -- a time of great, exuberant power.

The Ace of Cups is the one that has me a bit stumped, as it is a waning moon. What I think is that it's a time for going inside, getting ready for the encounter with the dark, unconscious, indicated by all that water.

Let me know if this revised version of the moons makes sense.

yes, makes perfect sense to me.

i put the aces in the following order: Wands - Cups - Swords - Pentacles
Wands for the sparkle of energy, as raw material, needed at the beginning. Beginning of a project, a relationship.
Cups for the internal examination of the new idea/relationship/situation. In my case many ideas don't go further than this examination as i do many things if my heart feels they are worth it.
Swords for the rational examination. Intellect comes and starts planning, organizing, giving the project new developments/possibilities.
Pentacles for the physical activity. I either have to do the job myself or I can follow its development, watch its conclusion, see how a relationship has grown and flourished etc.

i have to add that i mostly use tarot for self-analysis and self-guidance, very rarely doing reading for others, which is why my interpretation are very self-oriented.

my two cents anyway, since many others have added theirs and made me see new things.

would be excellent if this study group could find a new breathe

kissa
*just re-discovered and properly connected to the World Spirit tarot*

"Two of Cups: The coming together of 2 like minds. A happy meeting of friends and soul mates. 2 different views can bring about a more complete and better whole. Partnership and enjoyment. Bouncing ideas off of each other." -- Rhiannon

So like Rhiannon's wonderful keys to this card. Just pulled it out of the deck, almost at random this early a.m. Like all the cards in this wonderful deck, the thing that strikes me is the first-glance simplicity of the image, and what a world of things are actually going on in this card. It seems with these cards there is always something new to see, or a new connection to be made. I guess the term would be "rich."

So, we see two people dancing very much together in a fairy ring of mushrooms and toadstools. Being weak in botony, I don't know why, but such fairy rings do exist, and since if you look for it you can find magic almost anywhere, surely you can find it there.

Their arms are locked at the elbows and they are toasting each other. He holds a cup, and she (although the figures could be androgynous if you prefer to see them that way) holds a champagne flute. Champagne itself is a symbol of celebration. Cups, of course, are symbols of emotions, the symbol of the suite. He holds a red rose, a symbol of courage and passion. She holds a lilly, standing for purity, chasteness, innocence and beauty. Her tunic is red, again a symbol of passion and courage, as well as life and virility. Belted around her tunic is a green sash. The color green often represents growth and vitality, as well as earthly wisdom, and, for some, association with the goddess. His sleeveles tunic, a muscle shirt, is also belted with green and has a large flower on the front. Flowers are often used to symbolize frivolity and celebration. His blousy pants are blue, surely in this case representing clear skies and a sunny mood. She dances in boots, while he is barefoot to feel the meadow grass beneath his feet and connect with the earth.

There is no question at all that this pair is enjoying each other's company, totally absorbed in the moment.

In the upper left corner of the card is Kuan Yin, and the Piper at the Gates of Dawn plays his pipes in the upper right corner. You can almost hear the melodious notes Pan is playing. They too, appear to celebrate this scene of pleasure and peace. Here we have yin and yang, and, as Rhiannon observed, the coming together of two things to make a new whole.

Coiling at the edge of the fairy circle is a snake in the shape of a lemniscate, the infinity symbol, the symbol of mastery, magic and wisdom as seen in Major Arcana cards I and VIII, the Magician and Strength.

Directly over the couple's head a star shines, conveying the blessings found in Major Arcana XVII, the Star.

Now, I tried to go from border to border and corner to corner in looking at this card, and I'll bet'cha I missed a bunch'a stuff. Next time, I'll see those things, or see the things I commented on in a different way. That's what I love about all the cards in World Spirit. Oh, also that this couple, and other people in this deck, look like people I might see on the street, or know, instead of impossibly beautiful people as remotely seen in a glossy magazine.

(I didn't sign up for this study group or anything, but World Spirit has been my most favorite deck since it came out. I thought I might comment on some of the cards at random to make myself look at them in still another way. I've already snuck into the study group and carried stuff away, like a Seven of Swords. Or maybe like a pack rat. You know, when a pack rat takes something, he always leaves else something behind. I don't know what card that is.)

The Ace of Wands, with the little leaves coming out from it, always makes me think of the burning bush from the Judeo-Christian tradition -- divine power becoming manifest in an everyday thing and speaking very clearly with definite energy, and providing a major motivation to get up and do something, no matter what's standing in the way!

The Ace of Cups floats above still-looking waters, but when all that overflow hits the surface (heheh, I tried to throw an extra r at the end of that for some reason ), things are not going to be so calm and simple anymore. That sounds a little foreboding, but it's not meant to be -- the little plant at the bottom suggests the massive possibilities for growth that exist when one gives oneself up to the flow from the cup, the flow of daily human interactions that can grow into so much more.

With the Ace of Swords, everything's in flux -- at least that's what I get from the wiggly wind-motion radiating from it. This is the domain of thought, which can be ever-fleeting, as the wind suggests, or constant like the rocks. It's a bit less comforting than the Cups version, since those rocks are awfully stark and jagged, but at least they're solid, which makes sense since ideas are far more cut-and-dried and less mercurial than the murky realm of feelings the Cups embody. Still, the pointed nature of the central sword reminds you that this journey is not going to be easy.

In the Ace of Pentacles, everything worked for in the first three suits is coming into flower. There's still work to be done -- those pretty vines won't just decide to nurture themselves from now on -- but the ground is so perfectly green and grassy, and there's not even a cloud in the pristine blue sky. The central pentacle glows with pride, success, and hope for the future.

RedMaple got the moons beautifully, I think. It's an aspect of the aces to which I hadn't always paid so much attention, so I'm grateful for the enlightenment.

Thanks for reviving this thread, Talisman! I think I'll go revive the one on the Fool now, and maybe post on the Twos later.

Few days ago I did a reading on the oil spill on the gulf for my blog, the last card on the reading was Ace of Cups, currently there are rumors all around internet about an atomic bomb to seal the sea bottom as the solution to said spill.

When looking for images to update my blog's article I found a photo of the Tsar Bomb and reminded me the image of the Ace in my reading, I was amazed and shocked at the same time, please see attached image.

The Aeclectic Tarot Forum closed permanently on July 14th, 2017. The public threads remain online as a read-only archive and resource. More information on our decision can be found here. Thank you for being a part of our active community over the past seventeen years.